The Biltmore Suites Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland was built in 1880 by a Baltimore merchant named Samuel G. Wyman as an investment. It was known as the Shirley House and had 30 rooms to rent. Between 1880 and 1984, the building served as a hotel, as apartments and finally as a dormitory for the nearby Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Nearing foreclosure and on the auction block in 1984, the Shirley House was saved and the restoration was begun. Still known as the Shirley House in 1984, the original architecture was preserved as is evident in the central stairway. The stairway was completely dismantled, cleaned, and reassembled on steel beams. The interior woodwork made of ash is original. The original 30 rooms were converted into 17 rooms and suites, each with its own private bath.

Eight rooms were made from an adjoining building, which is accessed by a private courtyard. The second building, or as we call it the Park Avenue building, is about 100 years old and was probably a typical Baltimore townhouse.